The Vows
by mamaXunicorn
Summary: Mel gets a chance to say her real vows to Joe. Deleted Scene post the season 3 finale.


**A/N: Hello everyone…I am very new to Melissa and Joey…I've been binge watching the show on Netflix for the last couple weeks and it is one of my new favorite show and Mel and Joe are one of my new favorite couples. I was severely disappointed by the lack of fanfictions and so here I am writing one. I think that Mel deserved a little bit more on her wedding day than what she got so here's my little bit of a fixer. Enjoy!**

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Mel awoke to the faint sound of beeping accompanied by a dull ache in her head. She opened her eyes slowly, blinking a few times as the grogginess faded.

Then her eyes snapped open wide as she took in the sight around her. She was in a hospital room and the beeping she heard was her own heart monitor resting beside her bed.

She could feel the extra weight on her leg and lifted up the sheet to find herself looking at the large pink cast on her leg and it all came rushing back.

Her wedding to Joe and how it was interrupted and postponed as they dealt with the surprise news of his thirteen year old daughter. How his surprise daughter surprised them by following them home in a cab. How Joe surprised her by offering to let her stay with them for six months while her mother went on tour and how she nearly called off the wedding because of it.

How Dani thought she was unwanted and went to the roof to hide out, how she and Joe went to the roof to convince Dani that she was part of their family now, and finally...how she fell off the roof once again postponing their wedding with a now broken leg.

Her eyes flickered around the room, frowning in slight confusion as she took in the sight of streamers and a couple of blown up surgical gloves hanging from the walls.

Her eyes continued to trail the room until she found what she was looking for. Or rather, who.

Joe was sound asleep, slouched in the chair in the corner, his tux jacket off and hanging on the back of the chair.

Her heart lurched and thudded in her chest as she wondered how long she had been sleeping.

"Joe!" She called out to him. The man didn't stir and she frowned and attempted to sit up. She groaned as a sharp pain shot up her leg and she gritted her teeth, slowly pushing herself up into a better seated position.

"Joe!" She tried again, more sharply and then narrowed her eyes at the sleeping man who didn't budge.

She looked around and spotted a pen on the table beside her bed, and picked it up and threw it across the room, hitting Joe square in the chest. "Hey, Longo!"

Joe startled awake, grabbing the arms of the chair as he sat up. "What? I'm up."

He quickly shook his head, clearing all sleep from his brain and his eyes fell upon the blonde in the bed and his face softened. "Hey, Mel...you're awake." He smiled softly as he stood up and walked over to her.

She pressed her lips together. "Yes, I'm awake...but why was I asleep? It's our wedding day..." Her eyes widened as she realized she wasn't sure how long she was asleep for. "It is, isn't it?"

His smile widened and he perched himself on the edge of her bed, looking adoringly at her. "Yes, it is our wedding day."

Her face relaxed in relief and she nodded. "Okay...which brings me back to the question...asleep...why?"

"You were put on morphine, honey. You broke your leg, remember?"

She narrowed her eyes at him and used her arm to motion to her leg. "Kind of hard to forget, Joe." She sighed heavily.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

"Oh just peachy." She remarked sarcastically. "I've got a broken leg and you know, I slept through our wedding day!" She groaned and rested her head back against the pillow." I don't believe this." She muttered.

Joe slipped his hand over hers, giving it a gentle, reassuring squeeze. "It's alright, Mel."

She scrunched her face up as she looked back at him. "I really missed everything?"

"Well, I mean, you were there but...you know..."

"Yeah," She sighed again, "I know." She moved her thumb to wrap around his pinky, pressing her lips together in a frown. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault, honey." He tried words of assurance but then his brow pressed together and he pursed his lips. "Well, it is a little your fault. I mean, a penny Mel, really?"

"Hey." She snapped defensively. "It was a shiny penny."

"Well I hope that shiny penny was worth all of this." He shot back lightly, motioning his free hand to her leg.

She stuck out her tongue in response and he laughed, shaking his head in amusement.

She let out another sigh and leaned her head back looking up at the ceiling. "You know..." She mused after a few seconds of silence. "I had the strangest dream..."

"Morphine tends to do that..."

"I dreamt that we got married right here in this room." She continued, ignoring his comment and his brow furrowed slowly, his eyes narrowing curiously as he began to see where she was going with this.

"And instead of saying my vows...I sang them and it was 'I Will Survive'." She laughed to herself, shaking her head. "I mean what kind of wedding song is that?"

She lifted her head to see Joe sucking in his lips, attempting to hold back a smile but it soon spread across his lips as a quiet laughter rumbled from his chest. "Oh Mel..."

She narrowed her eyes curiously. "What...Joe, why are you laughing?"

He cleared his throat, licking his lips, squeezing her hand and looking her in the eyes seriously. "Mel, honey, that wasn't a dream."

She blanched. "Joe says what?"

"That all really happened, Mel. The nurse gave you your dose of morphine just before we started and the results were, well, that." He chuckled.

Her jaw dropped slightly and she stared at him in stunned silence for a few seconds. "Seriously? I..." Her eyes widened. "Wait a minute - you let us get married like that? When I wasn't even conscious?"

He scoffed slightly. "Oh you were conscious!" He replied and then added with a more hesitant smile. "Sort of."

She sighed, giving him a look. "Joe!"

"Conscious enough to say I do, anyway!" He finished. "Which you did."

She pressed her lips together, shaking her head at him before realization slowly swept over her. "So that really happened..." She muttered. "We really got married."

"We really got married." He echoed in confirmation, his voice softening as he smiled at her.

"Holy crap." Her eyes widened slightly. "We're married." She smiled to herself as she let that fact sink in.

Then after a few seconds, the smile faded into a frown and her brow pressed together. "Oh man!"

Joe's brow shot up. "Geez Mel, I thought it'd at least be a week before you started regretting it."

Her face softened as she looked back at him, smiling and squeezing his hand. "No, Joe...it's not that. It's my vows!" She sighed. "If I really sang 'I Will Survive' I didn't get to say my real vows. They were awesome!" she pouted.

"So say them now." He offered.

She gave him a look. "It's a little late for that, Joe."

He shook his head. "No, it's not. It's just us two in here and I know how much you were looking forward to saying them. And quite frankly, I'd feel better if my wife's only vows to me weren't _'and then I spent so many nights thinking how you did me wrong_.' So, go ahead, vow the pants off me, Mrs. Longo."

A smile lit up her face at his words. "Mrs. Longo..." She mulled the name over her lips and then hummed. "I think I like that." She nodded quietly to herself for a few seconds. She knew for sure she was definitely going to keep Burke as her last name for work purposes but for the moment she allowed herself to revel in the fact that she was married and could be a Longo.

Then she noticed Joe watching in her quiet adoration, his classic smirk on his lips and she was reminded of what she was supposed to be doing. "Oh, the vows. Right."

She shifted on the bed, moving over just a few inches to give Joe more room, wincing slightly as another sharp pain shot up her leg.

Then she cleared her throat and maneuvered her hand so she got get a better grip on his hand and looked seriously and lovingly into his eyes, pretending for the moment they were not in a hospital room but at the altar, exchanging vows for the first time.

"Joe..." She started simply and his smile twitched that much bigger at the way her voice lovingly wrapped around his name. "From the moment you walked into my life I knew there was something between us. At first, yeah, it was irritation and mild tolerance." She admitted and his smirk widened as he nodded his agreement. Her voice softened as she continued, "But over the years it grew into fondness and friendship and then eventually...love. What happened that night in Jersey, it was amazing and...terrifying. I was scared, Joe...scared because I had never felt like that for anyone. I always dreamed I would find the one but I never thought when we first met that it'd be you. I mean...us?" She scoffed a laugh, shrugging her shoulders.

"It's ridiculous." She paused for a second, biting her lip. "But it's not...it's wonderful. You're wonderful. Frustrating, and maddening and still drive me up a wall but...wonderful. You are the love of my life, Joe Longo. It's always been you and it will always be you...so, here I am, on our wedding day promising to love you forever. Promising to always stand by your side, as your equal, as your partner, supporting you through whatever. Through any of my future campaigns, through Longo Fit, through broken legs and surprise daughters," They both laughed at that and Joe broke their gaze for a half a second to look down at their hands, swallowing past the thickness in his throat and then met her eyes again as she finished, "Through anything that will come our way. We're going to argue, it's what we do, it's who we are but our love will overcome all of that." She let out a shaky breath and smiled brightly. "I love you, Joe." She released his hand and raised hers in the air in front of her. "Now...I know you already a put a ring on it-" she paused, frowning as she caught sight of only one ring on her finger.

"Joe..." She said slowly looking past her hand to him. "Where's my ring?" She raised her brow. "You did get me a ring, didn't you?"

"Yes! Relax would ya? I just thought I'd save something of the ceremony for when you were awake awake and could actually appreciate doing it." Joe explained quickly, sensing her rising panic.

She visibly relaxed, the smile returning to her lips. "Awww that's sweet..." She cooed before her face grew serious. "Now give me my ring, Longo."

"Alright!" He raised his hands and rose from the bed, reaching to rifle through the overnight bag on the floor near the table. He pulled out a ring box and came back to sit down.

He opened the box revealing two matching rings and she audibly gasped, covering her mouth with her hands and he gave her a quick look of fond amusement.

He rested the box on his lap and took out the smaller ring and took her hand in his. He slipped the ring on her finger as he repeated the words, "I, Joe, take thee Mel to be my lawfully wedded wife."

He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it gently. Her smile was beaming and tears welled in her eyes as they held each other's gaze for a few seconds.

Then he released her hand and her attention was brought to the ring as she held it up, admiring it's twinkle from the sun filtering in through the window. "Oh..." She sighed, placing her free hand over her heart. "It's so pretty..."

She stared at it for a few more long seconds until Joe broke her out of the trance by clearing his throat. She lowered her hand to look at him and he raised his brow expectantly.

"Oh!" She realized and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry..." She reached for the other ring, took his hand, and slid the ring onto his finger, also repeating the words. "I, Mel, take thee Joe to be my lawfully wedded husband."

She moved their hands to their palms were touching and entwined their fingers together and they both grinned happily at each other.

"You gonna finish now, Mel?" He asked after a few seconds. "The vows?"

She nodded quickly. "Yes, the vows! Where was I..." She bit her lip in thought. "Oh, yes. Okay...now you have really put a ring on it and so this it, Longo, I'm not letting you go. I guess you're stuck with me."

He squeezed her hand, grinning. "There's no place I'd rather be, baby."

She smiled brightly. "Then I pronounce us already husband and wife...now get in here and kiss the bride, Longo."

"With pleasure, Longo." He answered and leaned in, pressing his smiling lips to hers. His free hand went to her back to support her while hers went to his hair, pulling him in deeper.

Her legs tried to curl up out of instinct to be closer to him and the broken bones screamed in protest. She made a small noise in the back of her throat and felt Joe try to pull away but she grabbed him and kept him there.

This was her wedding kiss and broken leg be damned she was going to make it the best kiss they ever had. Which, admittedly, would be a tough feat considering they've had some pretty damn good ones.

Though Joe seemed just as determined as her to share in that goal - the amount of love, passion and tenderness in his kiss made her grateful she was already lying down.

And for that minute, the world did completely fade around them, leaving only them two in post-wedded bliss.

"Wow." She breathed once they parted, their forehead resting against each other intimately. Her hand found his cheek and caressed it softly with her thumb, her smile twitching at the stubble that tickled her skin.

"That was a damn good kiss." She continued and he tilted his head back to look down at her, finding her smiling at him. "I think I like husband Joe."

"Yeah?" He smirked. "Well, wife Mel is not so bad herself."

Her smile widened and then she shook her head slowly in disbelief. "I'm somebody's wife..." She mused. "I'm _your_ wife...that is crazy."

He pressed his lips together. "I love you too, Mel." He said dryly.

She shot him a look. "I didn't mean it like that. This just all happened so fast...so much happened so fast, it's just taking a while to really sink in, you know?"

He nodded once in agreement but before he could say anything, she scoffed lightly. "Though it's probably not a big deal for you - this is your third marriage after all."

His eyes narrowed slightly. "Okay Mel, first of all the second didn't count."

"It did!"

"No it didn't." He stressed.

"It so totally did!" She countered. "I know, I was there, I married you!"

"And you kept stressing how illegal it was-"

"It was."

"- and it only lasted a couple hours! Not even a day, Mel."

"You said 'I do'. I said 'Husband and wife'. By the great state of Ohio that's a marriage, Joe."

"And she was back in Russia before they day was over. We didn't even have time to - you know - consummate anything. And as you said - it was illegal!"

"An illegal marriage is still a marriage!"

He pursed his lips, sighing heavily. "What is the point you are trying to make here, Mel?"

She turned her head, smirking slightly. "That you're an old pro at being married."

He scoffed, shaking his head. "Oh yes, my first wife left me because I went broke and the second was barely anything and left the second she found out she could return to Russia. I would hardly say I'm an expert at marriage but I'll tell you what Mel - third time's the charm."

She hummed. "It better be."

His face softened as he smiled down at her. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Good...neither am I."

They smiled at each other, their little argument now forgotten as they drifted back into peaceful bliss.

After another minute, a silent conversation happened between them where Mel inched over, leaving an open space beside her and raising her brow pointedly.

Joe smiled and slipped into the space beside her, slipping his arm around her shoulders and she curled up against his side, resting her head against his chest.

"Joe?" She asked after a minute of silence.

"Mel?" He answered in the same tone.

"You know how you said that you saved the ring exchanging for when I was awake...is there anything else?" She tilted her head up, scrunching her face a little. "Like for example...the wedding photo?"

Joe didn't even have to say anything - it was just the way he sucked in his lips and the corner of his eyes pulled up in amusement that she had her answer.

"Oh no." She groaned. "How bad is it?"

"It's not that bad!" He tried to reassure her but the laughter in his voice claimed the opposite.

"Let me see it."

"Mel-"

"Joe let me see it."

"Okay..." He breathed out and lifted his body to dig for his phone in his pocket.

Mel held her breath as Joe settled back down and held the phone out in front of them, unlocking the phone and going into the photo album.

He scrolled through a couple nice ones of the kids before he stopped.

"Oh god." She groaned again, closing her eyes and burying her face into his chest. "Joe!" She lifted her head a moment later to frown at him. "Why would you take a picture like that?"

"We had just gotten married - I was hoping you'd still be awake for it but we needed to capture this moment."

She gave him a look. "Did we? Did we really? I am drugged and I _look_ drugged - that is not going to be our wedding photo, Joe."

"Of course not, honey." He agreed quickly. "Whatever you want - as soon as we get the kids..."

"Let's do it now." She cut him off with a smile and he raised his brow.

"Now? Mel...there's no one here to take it..."

"We're here." She countered and plucked the phone out of his hands.

He shook his head incredulously. "Are you seriously suggesting we do a wedding selfie?"

"Yeah, why not?" She shrugged, still smiling and then started combing her fingers through her hair to fix herself up while Joe watched on in amusement.

Then she snuggled up against his side and held the phone up already smiling as she instructed Joe to do the same.

Once the flash went off she turned the phone to look at the screen and sighed.

"Joe! You weren't looking!" She scolded but she couldn't deny the way her heart stuttered at the way he was looking at her in the photo. He was looking down at her, the corner of his lips were turned up in a smirk but his eyes were gentle and full of love like he was looking at the best thing in the universe.

"The camera is not important here Mel...you are." He answered swiftly.

"Charmer." She remarked past a smile and he smirked down at her.

"Will you smile at the camera please?"

"Yes dear." He answered as she held the phone up again.

They proceeded to take several photos, most of which were very nice, some of which had Mel mock glaring at Joe for the faces he made.

Mel loved a lot of them, especially one where they both had true beaming smiles and another where they shared a kiss but secretly, Mel knew that first one would always be her favorite.

"Joe..." She started after they settled back down, having put the phone away. "I have another question..."

She could feel his smirk against the back of her head. "Don't worry, Mel...the cake is safe. I sent Ma home with the kids to guard it from Ryder."

"That's not what I was going to ask!" She insisted, almost sounding offended but then pursed her lips out in thought. "Although that was a good idea, thank you sweetie. If Ryder ate my cake I'd have to eat him."

"Mel!" Joe barked out a laugh of surprise.

"What?" She lifted her shoulders, smiling innocently. "I was kidding! Come on...I wouldn't eat Ryder. Though I could eat something his size I'm so damn hungry. I haven't eaten anything since..." She paused frowning. "I haven't eaten anything all day." She said with a horrified realization.

"You were a little busy Mel, you know...being passed out." He remarked.

"Well now I'm not passed out and really hungry." She said with a frowning pout, placing her hand over her stomach.

He turned to look down at her with a smirk. "Tell you what, how about I get you something to eat, hm?"

Her pout morphed into a grin. "You'd only be the best husband ever."

He winked and leaned down to peck her lips quickly. "You know it baby."

He gave her hand a squeeze as he rose from the bed. "But what were you going to ask?" He wondered.

"Hm?" She raised her brow. "Oh! Right. I was going to ask when I could get out of here. You know it is our wedding day but the day will be over and soon it will be our wedding _night_ and I don't know about you but I really don't want to spend it in this bed."

He chuckled knowingly as he stood at the foot of her bed. "No, I don't either. I spoke to the doctor earlier and she said as soon as you wake up you should be good to go. I'll go get you some food and let them know you're awake and hopefully we can be out of here within the hour."

She sighed in relief and then smiled brightly. "That would be perfect! Thank you, honey." She said sweetly.

"You got it." He winked again and then turned walking towards the door.

"Hey Joe?" She called to him as he opened the door and he sighed, pausing in the doorway to look back at her. "What?" He shot back in exasperation though a smirk played at his lips.

"I love you." She said sincerely.

His face softened into a warm smile. "I love you too, Mel." He said back and they shared another smile and loving, lingering stare before he nodded once and left the room, closing the door behind him.

She sighed in contentment, leaning back against the bed, looking down at her hands and smiling happily as she examined her rings sitting on her left ring finger.

Her wedding day may not have been her idea of perfect or ideal but nothing about her relationship with Joe had ever been with normal.

And she was realizing that was exactly the way she liked it.


End file.
